Dallas attorney Jamey Newberg has been covering the Texas Rangers, from the big club down through the entire farm system, since 1998. His website can be found at www.newbergreport.com.

Gassed.

When news broke on Wednesday that Texas and Baltimore were zeroing in on a trade that would move Kevin Millwood for Chris Ray, I got emails from nearly 100 of you, more than half of which delivered a message fitting into one of these categories:

1. How could we trade our ace for a middle reliever?2. How does it make sense to trade our one established starter if 2010 is supposed to be “the year”??3. This is nothing but a salary dump! Rarr!

In nearly every instance, partly because I don’t have much time during the day to respond to non-work emails, I replied by saying, simply: “Let’s wait and see what we do with the saved money.”

Didn’t have to wait long.

Wednesday was the busiest day of the Winter Meetings for Texas, and a busy day for me at the office, and so you’ll have to forgive me if today’s report – on the Millwood-Ray trade and the imminent signing of Rich Harden and reportedly imminent trade of Max Ramirez for Mike Lowell – doesn’t go all nine. I know it’s the stretch run, but I’m a little gassed.

In fact, you know what? I’m scratched today.

Tomorrow I’ll get to the heavy slate of moves, and in the meantime I’ll throw you a flash with news of the player Texas has Baltimore select with the third overall pick in this morning’s Rule 5 Draft, which, as always, closes the Meetings.

Thanks for your patience.

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